The present cards and method relate generally to a card game suitable for players of most age groups. More specifically, this invention relates to a matching card game that requires the participants to match cards with identical indicia.
Matching card games are popular forms of entertainment. One of the most popular matching card games is the Rummy family of card games.
The object of all Rummy games is to form matched sets, groups and sequences called melds or lays. These melds or lays, when deducted from a player""s hand, serve to bring the value of the unmatched cards to a lower total than the unmatched cards of all other players. A player may also meld or lay an entire specified hand of cards in matched sets, which is called Rummy.
A matched set may be either a sequence of three or more cards in the same suit for example, four, five, and six of spades (in games where the player""s hand is comprised of ten or fewer cards, it is possible to meld all the cards in the hand in a single sequence); or three or four of a kind, for example, the queen of clubs, queen of diamonds, queen of hearts, and queen of spades.
Traditionally, Rummy card games utilize one or more standard decks of 52 playing cards, from ace to king in four suits. Unless otherwise stipulated, the ace is the lowest-ranking card, having a value of 1. The face cards (king, queen, and jack) are valued at 10 points each. All other cards have their numerical face value. The suits have no value.
Tonk is another popular variation on the Rummy family of card games that also uses a standard 52 card deck. As with Rummy, the object of Tonk is to complete spreads or melds with cards of the same rank (i.e. all kings) or cards of the same suit in sequence. A player may also hit (lay off) a card in his hand against a spread or meld of another player""s hand. For example, player 1 spreads a three-card match of kings. Player 2 has the remaining king. When it is player 2""s turn, he may hit player 1""s meld of three kings with his king. When this happens, player 1 who was hit must wait at least one round before he can go out by either getting rid of his remaining cards by making spreads or by hitting other player""s spreads.
Another popular matching card game is UNO(copyright). Unlike the Rummy games, UNO(copyright) uses a proprietary set of playing cards. To play UNO(copyright), each player is dealt 7 cards with the remaining ones placed face down to form a draw pile. The top card of the draw pile is turned over to begin a discard pile. The first player has to match the card in the discard pile either by number, color or word. For example, if the card is a red 7, player must throw down a red card or any color 7. Alternately, a player may throw down a Wild Card. If the player does not have a matching card, he must pick a card from the draw pile, which he can play if it forms a match. Otherwise play moves to the next person. When a player has one card left, the player must yell xe2x80x9cUNOxe2x80x9d (meaning one). Failure to do this results in the player having to pick two cards from the draw pile if the other players notice the player""s mistake. When a player is out of cards, he gets points for cards left in the opponent""s hands as follows:
All cards through 9=Face value
Draw 2=20 points
Reverse=20 points
Skip=20 points
Wild=50 points
Wild Draw 4=50 points
The winner is the first player to reach 500 points. However, the game may be scored by keeping a running total of points that each player has left at the end of each hand. When one player reaches 500 points, the player with the lowest points is the winner.
The worth of these prior art games is derived primarily from their entertainment value. Moreover, these games are limited to traditional or specialized decks of cards, which do not lend themselves to the promotional aspects of this invention. Thus, in addition to providing entertainment, the present invention offers the advantage of serving as a promotional tool.
The objective of the card game is to accumulate points by matching three sets of cards and by laying matching cards against other players"" three-card matches until a player runs out of cards. When a player runs out of cards, the round ends. At that point, the players score the round.
The deck of cards of the present invention includes 15 distinct 3-card sets of cards with matching indicia and 7 wild cards with matching indicia. The indicia on both the 3-card sets and wild cards might serve educational or promotional purposes. However, unlike standard decks of cards, which in some instances might contain promotional or advertising material, the promotional indicia on the cards of this invention are on the front or face of the cards instead of the back. The game is played with this deck of cards.
Scoring is accomplished by counting the three-card matches for each player. A player is awarded 30 points for each three-card match that utilizes no wild cards and 25 points for each three-card match that utilizes a wild card to complete the match. A player is awarded 10 points for each card played against the matching cards of another player.
The player to reach 700 points first is the winner. To accumulate this number of points, several rounds of the card game will have to be played. However, the players can elect to modify how a game is won. For example, to play a short game, players need not keep score. Each round can be won by the first player to run out of cards or by tallying each player""s score after a round. The players can also adjust the maximum score to 300, 500, or another number of total points if time does not allow for a full game.
To begin play, the cards are shuffled and six cards are dealt to each player. The remainder of the deck is placed in the center of the players and the dealer turns one card face up beside the deck. This is the discard pile.
The youngest player initiates the round, although the players may select any player for this purpose, including the player who won the first or a previous round. The first player has a choice of picking up the card from the discard pile or drawing from the deck. The discard pile in this game is unique in that the player can only pick up a card from the discard pile if that card makes a 3 card match in the player""s hand, either by combining two matching cards with a wild card, or combining all three matching cards. A player is not allowed to pick up a card from the discard pile unless a three-card match is accomplished. As each player continues to play the round, the choice is to draw from the deck or choose a card from the discard pile. As players discard, the discard pile should spread out face up so that players are able to see all the cards in the discard pile as shown below.
At each player""s turn, a choice is made to draw from the deck or utilize cards in the discard pile. The player may take all or part of the discard pile at that player""s appropriate turn. For example, if a player sees a card halfway into the discard pile that will benefit the player""s hand and make a three-card match, the player takes that card, along with all the cards more recently played on the discard pile. If the bottom card of the discard pile is the choice of the player to give a match, that player must take the bottom card along with the remaining cards and play continues after the player discards. In this last example, the discard pile would start over again with only one card.
Play continues by each player, in a clockwise motion, picking up cards and discarding cards while laying down matches of three cards (or two cards plus a wild card), to gain points.
When a player lays down the last of his cards, he must say, xe2x80x9cEn Fuegoxe2x80x9d (meaning on fire in Spanish) or another agreed upon signal term. The other player or players are penalized 10 points for each card left in their hand that is not a wild card.